


Compromised Agenda

by Talonticus



Series: Other Talon legacy tales [4]
Category: Star Wars Legends: The Old Republic
Genre: Dialogue Heavy, Drama, Humor, Implied Romance, M/M, Political Games, Sith Politics
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-12-02
Updated: 2016-12-02
Packaged: 2018-09-03 19:55:52
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,960
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8728081
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Talonticus/pseuds/Talonticus
Summary: When Valcera joined the Dark Council, she hadn't quite prepared herself for how the political climate worked. Her inexperience has led her into some rather bizarre situations with Marr and Vowrawn.





	

**Author's Note:**

> _So, just a little short "fun" fic here that I've had on my mind for about a week now. A certain someone has basically made me almost obsessed with this pairing, so I needed to post it somewhere._
> 
> _The character whose perspective we see from here is my Sith Inquisitor, the female mirialan Valcera, who got the title Darth Imperius when she joined the Dark Council. I've got a story with her on this site up right now, called "Through passion's gateways", if you're interested and haven't seen it before._   
>  _A character called Darth Arvade is mentioned twice here, but she was presented in[chapter 23](http://archiveofourown.org/works/6838579/chapters/18242464) of that story. She's an OC that I created as the head of the Sphere of Sith Philosophy. Basically a grumpy old pureblood._
> 
> _The story was inspired by[@disgruntledape](http://disgruntledape.tumblr.com/)_   
>  _Anyway, enjoy._

One of the first pieces of advice that Valcera received when she joined the Dark Council came from an unexpected source. Darth Arvade, head of the Sphere of Sith Philosophy, approached her after the first major meeting she attended. The old pureblooded woman spoke to her in a dire tone.  
“Don’t get involved between Marr and Vowrawn.”

At the time, she didn’t quite understand what Arvade meant, partially because the elder Sith had no intention of explaining herself. Whether it would be too much hassle or if an explanation would not be enough to clarify the depths of the problem, she didn’t know. Not back then, anyway.  
It took her three separate events to finally understand.  


* * *

  
The first was of a political nature.

She had been sitting in her office, supervising the Sphere of Ancient Knowledge and all its assets, when her assistant relayed the information that Darth Marr wanted to see her. She had no intention of shutting the other Councilor out, of course, so she let him proceed. Before she could welcome him and ask what he wanted, he spoke ahead of her.  
“Imperius, during the next meeting of the Dark Council, I need you to vote down these three propositions.”

He tossed a datapad down onto her desk, while she flinched at his blunt manners. He folded his arms as she examined the information he had given her. To her surprise, the propositions themselves were not of any major importance, nor were they actually military related.  
One involved a specific law regarding moats surrounding certain sizes of estates and the other two had to do with economics.  
“Eh, right. I suppose I can, but I don’t understand why you want me to-“

“I don’t have time to explain. I need your support in this. Can I count on it?”

His tone was brusque and decisive. Because of her past, Valcera has always despised being told what to do, but she had a certain respect for Marr, so she let it slide at the time.  
“You will have to give me some, as I need to inspect these further. I can’t know for sure whether they’re beneficial to my-“

“If you vote them down, I shall see to it that some of the archaeological expeditions of the Reclamation Service are given further security during the next few months.”

She narrowed her eyes in suspicion and was getting even more confused over how desperate he seemed. What exactly was this about? She did figure that he likely wouldn’t explain, from how he had acted up to that point.  
“Very well. You shall have my vote then.”

He nodded in appreciation.  
“Good. I will see you at the next meeting.”

It wasn’t until after he left that Valcera noticed how all three propositions had been created by Darth Vowrawn.

About a week later, she was contacted by a Dark Councilor once more, this time none other than Vowrawn himself. She didn’t quite comprehend the purpose behind his invitation to a dinner, wondering what kind of political scheme he might’ve plotted, but she had agreed to attend it with him anyhow.  
They’d sat at a private booth in one of the more prestigious dining areas within Kaas City, where many officers came for visits.  
Most of the evening had been unexpectedly pleasant as they conversed about the Empire, its colonies and some of their personal interests. Warning signs didn’t flare up until the end of the meal, when he proffered a datapad for her to inspect.

“Ah, before we go, I believe you will want to take a look at this. A few propositions have been made for the next convening of the Dark Council and the four at the top are some that I would classify as”, he gestured as if searching for the correct term, “…problematic. I was wondering if you could possibly consider voting them down.”

There wasn’t anything immediately unusual with his rather polite request. She had come to realize that Dark Councilors often tried to make deals with one another regarding political moves in their favor or against someone else. What got her attention was the fact that these ones weren’t all that important, did not actually relate to Vowrawn’s areas of control, and they were all created by Darth Marr. Two of them involved military communication, another for decreasing vacation time during a certain holiday and the last for placement of imperial symbols on certain carrier class warships.  
Were these two fighting somehow? Trying to outmaneuver each other, perhaps?

“I believe I can, but I don’t understand what you have against them. Most of them seem rather harmless and they’re not even related to any Ministry you lead.”

Vowrawn smiled at her, raising his glass of wine and had a quick sip before he responded.  
“Well, my dear, I understand you have many questions, but have you considered the benefit for yourself?”

“Excuse me?”

“If you follow my advice, I think there’s the distinct possibility that I can rearrange for increased transport of supplies to your forces. Quite a boon, I’d say.”

Was this the way of the Dark Council? Bribe your way to glory? Then again, she wouldn’t call these meager propositions particularly advantageous.  
“I…I guess you have my cooperation, Vowrawn.”

“I knew you’d see it my way, dear.”  


* * *

  
The second was of an oddly insulting nature.

Weeks later, when she had been getting more used to the power struggles among the top tiers of the Sith, she was suddenly exposed to a rather strange side.  
Within the Dark Council chambers, her own seat is next to that of Darth Marr, as he sits on the rightmost edge of her side of the room. Before she reaches that chair, she always has to pass by Vowrawn, who is at the leftmost seat. When she one day managed to be among the first to enter the chambers for a meeting, she heard the pureblood calling her over.

“Imperius, why don’t you take Rictus’ seat today?”

Valcera eyed the chair next to him, seeing how it’s empty.  
“Ehm, why would I do that? Won’t it anger him?”

She didn’t like dealing with the bizarre lead of the Sphere of Mysteries and had no intention of getting in his way. Vowrawn simply smirked at her doubt however.  
“Not at all. You see, I have reliable information that he will not be present today.”

She had stopped, not quite understanding why he would suggest this at all.  
“I don’t know…”

“Come now, this will give us a chance to converse before the proceedings. Besides, there’s not a specific set of rules for where everyone has to sit, anyway. We just tend to go to the same seats because of tradition.”  
His arguments were compelling, but she still appeared skeptical.  
“I also know from experience that the cushion he uses is more comfortable than the rest. It’s custom-made, you know. You’ll never feel it if you don’t try it out.”

Giving in to his persuasive words, she moved over and sat down in the chair, and to her surprise, he was correct, after all.  
“Hmm, you’re right. This is quite soft. How come he has a better seat than the rest of us?”

“It’s not just him; Arvade has one too.”

As they sat there talking, Vowrawn’s eyes got diverted to the door as the large and hulking figure of Marr entered the chambers. As usually, he strolled right towards his seat, not sparing anyone else a glance. However, after a few seconds, he suddenly stopped and turns his whole body in Valcera’s direction. When their gazes met, even though she couldn’t see his eyes, neither of them said anything at first. It made Valcera uncomfortable.  
“That is not your seat.”

She started fidgeting with her hands as she cleared her throat.  
“No, that’s true, but I thought I could sit here today.”

“That’s not how this works. Get back to your chair.”

Valcera frowned, realizing that he was giving orders again. She didn’t have to listen to him and he knew that. Perhaps it was just in his nature.  
“I don’t see any names on them, so how will I know which one is supposed to be mine?”

Vowrawn smirked at her remark while Marr turned his head very briefly in his direction before going back to the mirialan.  
“For the sake of keeping today’s topics in order, I suggest you follow my instructions, or else we shall have to rearrange your speech to be at the end of the day.”

She raised her eyebrows in surprise, giving Vowrawn a quick look. He did nothing more than smile mysteriously to himself. She sighed and gave in. When she sat down next to Marr, she received a wink from Vowrawn, but didn’t understand why. Had he planned it all along?

In a similar note, at a later date, Valcera was working inside her Sphere’s personal chambers. They’re a few levels lower than her public office and it is rare for people to visit her there, except for issues related directly to Ancient Knowledge. When Khem Val announced Marr’s arrival, though, she reluctantly allowed him to enter.

They shared quick greetings before he handed her an odd-looking amulet. The necklace was made of leather, while the round amulet itself was of a red metal with golden ornaments at the front. She didn’t recognize what the symbol it shaped was supposed to be.  
“At our next meeting, I ask that you wear this.”

He didn’t offer any further explanation, but she wasn’t about to just let him leave.  
“Hey! What do you mean? I’m not going to wear it just because you tell me to.”

Marr sighed briefly, realizing that it wouldn’t be that easy. He turned back around and folded his arms.  
“If you wear it, I offer you the opportunity to have me at your side for all the topics during that specific meeting.”

Valcera scowled in response. What was this thing, anyway? She couldn't sense any kind of Force presence from it at least, so it couldn't be a cursed artifact or anything similar.  
“What’s your game, Marr? What is this about?”

“No game, I just want you to have it and I would appreciate if you wear it next time. That is all.”

Afterwards, she wondered for days whether he was trying to ridicule her or not, but decided to do as he wished and wore it.  
During the meeting, she came to understand what it entailed, or at least who it was aimed at.  
Vowrawn immediately reacted upon her arrival.  
“Eh, excuse me, Imperius? Where did you obtain that amulet?”

She turned towards him, briefly touching the small piece of jewelry. What was she going to say? She didn’t want to fully explain the strange deal she had made with Marr, so she had to apply a certain false aspect.  
“It…was a gift.”

“From who?”

“Darth Marr, actually.”

Comprehension glistered in his eyes as he turned a glare towards the other side of the room, but Marr wasn’t even paying attention to them.  
“I see. Well, that happens to be my family’s crest.”

Once more, she was shocked that she somehow seemed to have inadvertently offended one of them, mostly on the recommendation of the other.  
“O-oh, I…I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to squander your house in any way. You can have it back.”

Vowrawn simply exhaled and raised a hand.  
“No no, that’s alright. You may wear it. It hasn’t seen use in quite some time anyway.”

For the rest of the summit, Marr appeared to be in an unusually good mood.  


* * *

  
The third was of a personal nature.

It took several more weeks until she once more was thrown at the crossroads of their disagreement, when she encountered Vowrawn in the hallways of the Imperial Citadel. She was rather busy with checking some files on her datapad when he stopped her.  
“My dear Imperius, I hear you’re leaving Dromund Kaas for a few days with your lovely companion.”

Valcera had met his eyes in surprise. It was true that she and Lana Beniko, her girlfriend for the past few months, were taking a short vacation together. They rarely get that chance otherwise, with how much Lana stayed focused on her work, so Valcera had to force the issue.  
“Wait, what? How do you know of this?”

He smiled at her in that mysterious way which he tends to do.  
“It is my business to know such things.”

It was certainly true that he often managed to find out unnerving details of important Sith’s personal lives. That’s why he liked to gossip with her from time to time.  
“I…well, you’re correct, of course. Lana and I are going to Bosthirda together. We’re going to see her parents.”

“Ahh, meet up with the parents-in-law, hmm? Always an interesting situation.”  
He moved closer and placed a gentle hand on her shoulder.  
“Well, may I offer you a suggestion?”  
He wasn’t going to wait for her to respond and continued before she had even opened her mouth again.  
“There’s an excellent relaxation area very close to the Ministry of Logistics in the capital city of Bosthirda. I’ve visited it numerous times whenever duty called me to that world. I highly recommend you go there together. I’m certain you’ll make a great impression upon her parents if you invite them to a private session.”

“That is…an interesting suggestion.”

“Splendid! I’ll arrange for it immediately.”

She felt very unsure and was almost on the verge of declining his offer, but she hadn’t actually figured out what they would be doing over there anyhow, so this couldn’t hurt.  
A few days later, when her and Lana’s ship had just exited hyperspace outside of Bosthirda, they received an urgent holocall and Valcera was surprised to see Marr’s hologram showing up.  
“Marr? What do you want? Actually, how did you get this frequency?”

“That is irrelevant. I thought I would do you a favor and explain the situation down on Bosthirda, as I heard you were going there.”

Him too? How fast did the rumors about where she was travelling spread? When she got back to Dromund Kaas, she had to consider plugging some leaks.  
For that moment, she simply frowned in distrust.  
“What situation?”

“Parts of the commercial area of the capital city has been shut down for the week.”

Of course it had been.  
“Excuse me? Why?”

“There is a security threat that my personnel have to deal with. It will take a while to investigate. I apologize for any inconvenience.”

By the sound of his voice, and from what she could remember Vowrawn telling her, this likely included the place they were going to visit. She sighed heavily.  
“When the hell did this come up?”

“Just this morning.”

When the call was over, Valcera was no longer feeling the same kind of excitement about their trip and Lana herself was rather confused.  
“Val, I…I don’t quite understand what just happened. What’s going on in the Dark Council?”

Valcera was frowning and already plotting revenge.  
“I don’t know, but I intend to end it as soon as possible.”  


* * *

  
And so, finally, in the next assembly of the Council, she simply cracked. Yet again, they had of course tried to get her to follow their schemes and plots, no matter how ridiculous it all seemed. When they were voting for Marr’s first proposal, which she had promised him that she’d agree to, she slammed her fist down on the side of her chair.  
“No wait, you know what, Marr? I’ve changed my mind. I’m now voting against it.”

The sudden reversal ignited a silence in the chambers and the head of Defense slowly turned to her.  
“Pardon?”

“You heard me! I’m tired of your plots and your silly games! I’m ending it _here."_   She emphasized it by pointing down hard at armrest. “I vote ‘no’ to this proposal.”

He stared at her for several moments, before taking a deep breath and speaking very slowly to her.  
“Are you absolutely sure, Imperius? Do you understand the choice you’re making?”

In response, she gave him an equally stern gaze and even leaned closer, just in case.  
“Absolutely, and I’m _dead_ certain.”

While everyone else merely watched them, the one who broke the silence was Vowrawn as he erupted in laughter and began to clap. She heard Marr sigh and saw him lowering his head in what she’d almost describe as a glum way.  
She didn’t have any explanation for why they were both reacting this way. It never happened previously when she followed their directions. When facing Arvade, the old pureblood merely gave her a look that seemed to say, _“I told you so.”_

It wasn’t until after the meeting that she managed to overhear an intriguing conversation on her way to the turbolift. Vowrawn’s voice was what immediately piqued her interest.  
“I told you I’d succeed. “

Just like during the vote, Marr sounded disappointed, or perhaps defeated.  
“…I still don’t know how you do it.”

“Do what?”

“How did you convince her this time?”

Vowrawn laughed shortly.  
“You still haven’t grasped the finesse of this game, darling. For me, it is not about strategy or persuasion. It is simply…a gift.”

Marr sighed in irritation.  
“We won’t do this again.”

“Hah! If you say so. Ready for a fun trip to Begeren next week, then?”

The sound Marr emitted was something between a groan and a growl. His voice was deep enough to appear like either.  
“I’m not wearing those violet robes.”

“I believe our contract disagrees with you.”

“What contract? I didn’t sign any damn contract.”

“You think I don’t know how to forge your signature?”

**Author's Note:**

> _I'm not sure how "canon" this is for Valcera's actual story but, it was fun to write anyway._


End file.
